The cover photo this week is once again a training session. This time from a location in the Chongwe area. We continue to support this effort spearheaded by Tracy and our friends at ZIAP because we believe it has the potential to feed way more people in the long run than we can possibly ever raise the funds to feed in our monthly programs. As we build our rolls of this training, this week we went over 6,000 names. I don't know if we will get to 10,000, but we still have several trainers from whom we have not received their entire training enrollees.
That said, we also believe there are MANY being trained that will not be able to afford to actually put this life changing training into practice without some additional help in the form of inputs. We received some more American help this week and now sit right at $40,000 in our inputs provision fund. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I sent a portion of that in the November wire this week, thinking they might be at a place later this month where they would want to get started sharing with some of those most needy trainees that are ready to put their training into practice.
I have so far only teased about the potential for another development effort coming in 2026, and I just want to keep that in front of you all. Plans are in the works for our first LIVE ANIMAL DEMONSTRATION FARM early in the year. Still too early to say much more, but if you are curious about that concept, I would point you towards brother Rog for more details.
As we move towards the end of the year, typically a time when Americans consider their charitable giving a little more, let me just lay out the programs we are currently funding in Zambia:
1) Our primary focus remains on FEEDING those who are living in DEFICIT. This month we once again hope to impact over 3,400 families spread around the 124 church communities within which we serve. This effort is covered in two ways: first of all, our HARVEST offering (which we focus on when it is springtime in America) allows us to purchase and store bags and bags of maize and most of our churches. On a regular ongoing basis, it is our 30+ recurring donors that shoulder the weight of keeping things happening every month. We now have six staff members to pay and equip for the work and the monthly travel to oversee all that is done. We are ALWAYS looking for more Americans who share our vision for caring for our less privileged brothers and sisters in this way to join this group of recurring donors. Some do that with a regular check from a Donor Advised Fund. Others a recurring check from a personal checking account. And many set up a recurring donation on our website. All are VERY welcome.
2) We have completed ten clean water projects in ten months in 2025, bringing our total successful projects to 27. Those are typically not more than $2,000, although sometimes we run into issues that drive that cost up. Any that are interested in contributing towards clean water are welcome to designate a donation from any of those aforementioned methods to that work.
3) This time of year, we are once again looking for help providing inputs. As I mentioned, I included some of that fund in the wire this month, and we will likely put most of that to use in the next 6 weeks. We could certainly still use help with additional fertilizer or insecticides into the growing season (early 2026), so even if you want to contribute to that effort but can't in the next 6 weeks, there would still be time.
4) If the concept of live animals and additional protein in the Zambian diet excites you more than growing maize, we would welcome donations directed that way as well.
I hope all that is helpful. Thank you for considering being a part of this work.
